Cloud Bend — [P] Just Wanted To Say 'Aloe!'

◊ let it water a parched throat with warm summer rain ◊

In an effort to avoid the worst of the biting winter chill, Snapdragon had been keeping to the trees. They blocked the worst of the wind, and were a fine test of Snapdragon's aerial agility. Trees weren't as exhilarating as jumping off a cliff, but it was good exercise to twist and turn in the air and hit certain trunks or branches with each paw in succession. Snapdragon had to keep its skills sharp. Its regenerated body was growing up, and already it was not relying on the generosity of Verdantis as much as before.

It remained undecided whether to go or stay, when it had finished growing up again. It had thought about joining a pack once or twice before, but had always decided not to for one reason or another. Yet now that circumstances had forced the issue, Snapdragon realized it preferred the more orderly and predictable ways of pack life, over the constant uncertainty of living as a lone wolf. It freed up so much time for personal projects, and allowed for much grander plans!

Such as magic, for instance. Snapdragon was practicing that now. It had skirted the edges of Cloud Bend, grappling with errant gravity. It had alighted on the riverbank, where the river crossed into Brightwood. Now, making full use of the safety that came with living on claimed packlands, it was concentrating to the exclusion of all else on mimicking a cattail.

The effort would certainly seem to merit better results, but Snapdragon still found it difficult to morph into any plant that wasn't a giant trumpet flower. Taking a deep breath and releasing it as a sigh, Snapdragon took a break to work the kinks out of its neck.

Delta hadn't expected so many of the rivers and streams to freeze, ice floes had been a rare, distant sight out in the open ocean in only the most frigid of seasons. Inland though, nearly all of the smaller streams autumn rain had fed had since starved and shrunk to nothing, replaced instead with packed snow and dried branches which drastically shrunk his range. It had been frightening sure, the few times he'd slunk across land to reach other bodies of water now inaccessible by swimming, but he'd managed well enough at first. He'd even found himself enjoying how the snow felt against his pelt, batting at the banks and rolling about in the strange almost-water when he wasn't busy with hunting.

Now however, even the larger rivers were freezing. Delta had feared they'd dry up completely like the streams had, but instead the ice created a thick, strong layer above the currents to block the water in. He'd desperately clawed and scrabbled at his new ceiling out of the initial fear of being trapped, but it hadn't taken long for the little cat to grow accustomed to it. In fact, he almost found himself preferring it. The water was colder now, sure, but it was dark and quiet. Fish were sluggish and easy to snap up, and he didn't have to worry any land predators would try to catch him now that he was protected beneath the ice.

So, Delta's winter had been rather peaceful. Boring, but peaceful. He patrolled the water and nested in deep cracks along the riverbeds, only swimming up to the ice to press his face against and make out the hazy outlines of sky and trees above. Where the ice was thinner, sometimes he caught sight of animals moving across the banks.

Sometimes they stepped on the ice, and that seemed to be the most likely explanation as to why a section had broken off along the river's edge here. Delta spent a good long while regarding the break with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity, but it seemed that whatever creature had initially broken it had long since left the area. Eventually he gathered the courage to take a look, pushing off the riverbed to rise up and poke his eyes above the water's surface. It had been quite a while since he'd been exposed to the air, and a gurgling hiss escaped him as he squinted against the sharp winter sunlight. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he peered up and down the territory and blinked with awe at the realization at just how colorful the air was here.

Delta had never seen such a place before, and he was so distracted by the sight that the ordinary clump of cattails sprouting from the soil close by fell out of his attention. He was debating on the idea of stepping from the water to get a closer look at the strange almost-fog when suddenly, there was a wolf. They had made no sound heralding an arrival, no scent or sight. It was as if they just appeared from the plants, close enough to touch, and Delta shrieked.

DICE ROLL: Charisma, Banshee
Success: Delta's scream evokes a sudden sense of terror, instinctually trying to scare off a perceived predator.
Failure: Delta screams in surprise, but there's no supernatural effect. It probably sounds kind of funny cause his mouth is still halfway in the water.

Delta rolled the dice.

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Character Diceroll 1: Success
Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Charisma.
525 was added for Level 3.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
8 was deducted for C. Vagrant Penalty.